The first public beta of Swift has been out for a week. I’ve been there since the beginning. I’ve read almost the entire book and have written many dozens of lines of Swift code. So as an expert in the field, I’m finally in a position to write the definitive review of the language. That’s a joke, son. But I’m going to dive in anyway, since that’s what you do once you hit your 140 character limit.
First, a spoiler. I basically like Swift. Given its goals and its constraints, I think it’s a move in the right direction. Many of those complaining most about Swift seem to misunderstand one or the other.